Bass Trends

I have just remembered some of the basses that used to be really hot and everyone wanted..Reverend Rumblefish (havent heard that name in a while huh?) Fender Roscoe Beck V...what do you think is next? There the old favorites like the MIMs will always be around but what do you think will enter (or exit) the spotlight next?

I bet you'll see more innovative use of non-traditional materials in basses like phenolics, engineered polymers, and stainless steel. Enviromental issues (though overrated) will drive many to seek out instruments that are made from renewable resources. Take a look at the popularity and high praise the Cort Curbow has gotten. A "Luthite" body and "ebonol" neck are two of it's drawing cards. The low cost doesn't hurt either. With the use of the alternative materials, I think you will also see less expensive instruments that are sonically the equivalent of some of the more expensive ones. This will probably continue (we're talking many years here) to a point that an all wood bass will be the more expensive and not necessarily the most popular.

What about a device that plays bass for you? Why waste all that effort moving all the muscles for both the right and left arms when you can do it with just one arm and a push of a button? It'll be great, I see it as seasick green, 3 rows of 4 buttons each (bank up, bank down, the rest will start playing the song assigned to that place in the memory, extra memory sold seperatly of course), a 3 digit numeric display to show what song is playing, and it will come with a little stand so you don't have to hold it.

But then we'll get to the point where the button pushing is to much and we'll need a remote for the original button based bass playing device (for now let's call it Bassonic 3000). Of course the remote will not only require more button pushing, but will be so large that you need to use both hands to hold it, it'll use 6 D batteries, and the cord (that's right it needs a cord) will only be 3 feet long.

With all joking aside I think that we're to eccentric to correctly guess what trend will hit next. Might as well find what you like hold on to it tight, keep an eye out for something that will serve you better, and then watch the numerous new bass players believe the hype.

i am getting the ZON Steven Hawkins bass in the mail in a couple of days. it doesn't have any strings, it has buttons that you push with your nose. it also has a time/space input so you can bend notes with your mind.

This one gets my vote. It's called the "SSS" bass.
No, not a cheesy sci-fi flick about atomic-radiation
mutant rattlers. SSS stands for "Sweet Spot Select".
Little DC gearmotors move the pickup back and forth
until the desired Sweet Spot is found . Now why didn't
Jack Casady and Epiphone think of this?

I think Ibanez is coming out with the R2D2 bass that comes with it's own robot unit to fix broken parts mid-song so you don't have to repeatedly stop to fix your bass. Actually, I think that SSS thing might be the R2 bass! That thing scares the hell out of me!

Originally posted by Nails What about a device that plays bass for you? Why waste all that effort moving all the muscles for both the right and left arms when you can do it with just one arm and a push of a button? It'll be great, I see it as seasick green, 3 rows of 4 buttons each (bank up, bank down, the rest will start playing the song assigned to that place in the memory, extra memory sold seperatly of course), a 3 digit numeric display to show what song is playing, and it will come with a little stand so you don't have to hold it.

But then we'll get to the point where the button pushing is to much and we'll need a remote for the original button based bass playing device (for now let's call it Bassonic 3000). Of course the remote will not only require more button pushing, but will be so large that you need to use both hands to hold it, it'll use 6 D batteries, and the cord (that's right it needs a cord) will only be 3 feet long.
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I bought one in the 80s - it was called a "Microcomposer" - Roland word for sequencer!

I think the 7 strings are going to become industry standards in the near future.

it's all due to this John Turner and his LordOnly MP3s which are giving all those kids playing a 4-6 string bass a hard time wining the Tab contest ;-)

just kidding of course.

personnaly I don't belive that composites will become "the bomb" again. fact is that composites ruled the 80's and in the 90's a vintage craze caused people to sell their 2500$ Steinbergers for a mere 700 bucks.
another composite frenzy will 'cause another vintage craze so its not likely that a new hype will be generated.

R2D2 bass? Yup! Made by Ibanez? I'm pretty sure that's what we've been discussing on the Ibanez board of directors...see, I'm the chief executive officer for Ibanez and we've been talking about coming up with a new design for bass guitars! Since we already know how crappy our basses can be, I think this is a great idea! I'm going to present this at our next quarterly board meeting!

Of course, we'll have to have an SSS version of it that'll crank out 400 watts of power with negative subharmonic distortion and a virtual speaker cabinet built directly into the onboard preamp that is 1/4 ohm. Yup! Here we have it, and you heard it here, folks!

Just out of curiosity...does anybody remember the old Roland bass synth? Granted, I was only a teenager when it looked like this was the latest thing. But, I remember a lot of people touting this as the future of the bass guitar. Now, people are clammering for the "old-school" sound, with Fenders, Fender Copies, and Leo's subsequent companies (G&L and Music Man) being the 3 most popular companies around (at least seemingly so).

My guess is that it'll come full circle again, just as music has...the 80's have come and gone, and to a lesser degree, come and maybe even gone again! So have the 70's. So have The Who, Yes, and even CSN&Y! We'll see neck through's gain in popularity again someday, but predicting the future is only recanting the past.

My bet/hope is that interchangeable pickups and onboard electronics will make a comeback. It was tried before, most notably by Ampeg; they even sold a little case for carrying all your spare pickups.

But, I mean on a universal scale, like strings, not manufacturer-specific. J and P models have been popping up all over. Not only are the makes of replacement pups growing but also the technology...optical, piezo, et al. It seems as though everyone is either replacing or thinking about replacing their instruments electronics.

Originally posted by Marty Forrer Brad, where can I get one of those 400watt basses?

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I've been sworn to secrecy but it will be built in Meridian, MS
Price is yet to be determined.

It's 400 watts of "Honkin' Digital Power" (tm) that's digital so it's stable down to DC. There's no free lunch of course...it adds 2 lbs. to the bass but the helium-coil, torrential transformer (it falls rapidly) which is used for the amp AND the effects actually creates a negative gravity situation at the neck joint so a strap is not needed (also available in a rack mount ( a first for bass guitar) at triple the price (thanks, Line6).

I saw the prototype and fully expect Jay Turser to sell a copy before the original hits the market. Best of all...it's Made in America, and we all know what that means...